25 years ago: Up to half of KU summer classes cut

Summer school programs at Kansas University were suffering in the wake of state budget cuts. Even if the Kansas Legislature were to restore the KU budget after the recently-approved 3.8 percent cut, it was too late to save some programs. "We're already committed," said Carl Locke, dean of the School of Engineering. "You've got to plan too far ahead." The engineering school and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences had already cut the number of summer class sections by half.

In the midst of the ice and snow and chilly temperatures, organizers of Lawrence's summer festival were already planning ahead. The 1987 Independence Days event was already calling for volunteers to sign up for various committees. During the previous summer, about 500 volunteers had worked to put together the festival, which had been attended by more than 27,000 people.